


These Violent Urges

by ButterflyEye



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assassin Stephen Strange, Boys In Love, M/M, Secret Identity, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 14:39:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20259727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButterflyEye/pseuds/ButterflyEye
Summary: Stephen Strange was tasked with killing Tony Stark for the assassins guild of Kamar-Taj. Love wasn't part of the plan but now that it is, Stephen will do what he has to, in order to keep the man alive.





	These Violent Urges

“Hey love, you almost ready?”

Stephen tensed from where he stood in front of the mirror, staring down at the crumpled pieced of paper in his hand. The words, now worn and indecipherable, had left his stomach rolling with nausea. The feeling only worsened as he heard Tony approach the door of the bathroom, hovering outside and no doubt growing increasingly anxious.

Swallowing thickly, Stephen willed his voice to be steady, “Yes, I just need a minute.”

A pause where Tony didn’t move away from the door and Stephen wanted to scream at him to walk away, to please for the love of god, give him a minute to get his head on straight. He didn’t. Stephen had been trained far better than that, the image of Wong’s disapproving gaze burned into his mind.

“Are you alright? We agreed-”

“I’m fine,” Stephen interrupted. He took a fortifying breath and softened his voice in such a way as to reassure Tony that no, he wasn’t having second thoughts and yes, he was in fact perfectly alright. “I’ll meet you downstairs, everything is fine, I promise. Tonight, will be perfect.”

It was impossible to miss the smile in Tony’s voice, “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

The footsteps retreated and Stephen burst into action the moment they left the bedroom. He swung open the bathroom door and strode over to the nightstand. Pulling it away from the wall, Stephen was able to reach behind it and into the small pocket of space behind a drawer, where he kept his emergency phone.

Stephen hit one and waited with stinging eyes until a familiar voice clicked onto the line.

“Seven. Nine. One. Eleven.”

Wong’s accented tone was enough to steady the tumultuous waves of emotion crashing through him and Stephen answered in kind, “Nine. Thirteen. Two. Four.”

A short series of clicks and Stephen knew they were on a private line when Wong let loose a string of expletives. Wincing, he glanced at the doorway, counting down the five minutes Tony would allow before coming back upstairs.

“Stephen. You’ve royally fucked up this time.”

His eyes fell closed, the fingers of his free hand reaching up to rub at the back of his neck, right over the white tattoo marking him as an assassin of Kamar-Taj. Behind the lids of his eyes, in the darkness of his own mind, Stephen saw the world he’d built these last eleven months crumbling into dust, the love in his heart turning sour.

Stephen had known things would always end up here, they always did, with a bullet, a gun, and spilled blood. That didn’t change what he intended to do, “Wong, tell me what my options are.”

The silence on the other end was eerie coming from a man who always had something to say, it felt like a goodbye. It only lasted a moment and Wong, ever dutiful, focused on what was coming ahead, “you have two options as far as I can see. One, you finally fulfill your mission and kill Stark.”

“I won’t,” Stephen replied calmly.

Wong didn’t miss a beat, “or you forsake the order and endure all that it means. Mordo has been sent to finish the job and the council are willing to be lenient with you if you agreed to undergo analysis. However, if you try to get in his way, his orders are to remove you from the equation as well.”

It wasn’t unexpected and yet it still hurt, “The Ancient One must be furious.”

“Stephen,” Wong’s hesitance and the tone of his voice made him tense. “She’s gotten worse. They haven’t told her anything about this situation and all attempts I’ve made to see her have been denied. I think they are afraid of what she might do if they tell her.”

He blinked. She didn’t know. That was alright then.

“I won’t let him kill Tony.”

Wong sighed, “I know.”

The silence this time felt more final. Stephen glanced at the clock, two minutes, “it has been an honor working with you Wong. Take care of her for me and don’t let those bastards win.”

They had been battling the corruption in the order for years now, side by side, and their bond had become something brotherly, the thought of never seeing Wong again burned. Stephen had never thought love could ravage him so thoroughly.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. Good luck Strange, until we meet again in the hills.”

Stephen hung up without a word. Ignoring the shaking in his hands, Stephen sprinted across the room to his closet. He shoved aside the clothing and pulled out a lock box, he’d told Tony, held special little baubles from his childhood, so he wouldn’t pry. In truth, clicking open the lid revealed an assortment of knives, guns, ammo, and a few fun tricks.

He kept it simple. The suit he was wearing it wouldn’t allow for too much firepower and besides, Stephen had never needed anything fancy to do his job. One gun strapped to his ankle, two knives, one on the calf, the other his wrist, and finally, a tiny little transmitter he slipped deep into his ear that would allow him to catch Mordo’s frequency.

“Stephen?”

He snapped it closed and rose to his feet. He was ready, Tony would not die tonight, “coming!”

Stephen met Tony at the bottom of the staircase, smiling widely to conceal the way his heart stuttered, and stomach dropped. The grin on his lover’s face made it impossible for him not to lean down and press a soft kiss to his lips, earning a startled hum.

Tony looked at him afterwards with assessing brown eyes, “still nervous?”

“Not in the least,” Stephen reassured, squeezing his hand.

“Alright, then let’s go before we’re late.”

Stephen followed him to the car, never letting go of his hand and exerting every effort to memorize each detail of Tony’s body, his facial expressions, his smile. His lover wouldn’t die tonight but Stephen might and even if he didn’t…there was no future for them, not anymore.

He pretended the thought didn’t shatter his heart.

Pressing close to Tony’s side in the back of the car, he smiled against Tony’s neck, reveling in the low chuckle. Tonight, was supposed to be the best night of their lives, a shining moment in the chaos that had been their meeting.

Stephen had been contracted to kill Tony eleven months ago, after he was deemed a hazard to humanity. The missile programs and defence spending and under the table weapons selling had all launched the man to the top of their list. Stephen’s mission, in addition to killing Tony, was to retrieve records on the deals so they could dismantle the system once Tony was out of the picture. So, Stephen had got close, observed, scavenged, as he’d been trained to.

What he found was very different from his intel.

It quickly became apparent Tony knew nothing of the weapons trading and it was orchestrated by the family friend Obadiah Stane. Upon making the discovery, Stephen had placed some easily found evidence for Tony to stumble upon and conveniently made sure the man was found dead in his luxurious penthouse, four weeks after the discovery. The cause of death? Suicide of course.

From the start, Tony had been horrified by the realization and had begun instituting changes to the company. That was the first time Stephen’s conviction to kill him stuttered. The second time was at an elaborate press conference where he claimed the company would no longer focus on defense. The third and final time that sealed Stephen’s fate, was an evening in front of a fire, with two glasses of wine and a blueprint of an arc reactor, successfully creating green energy.

Stephen had changed but the order had not. Once a name was on the list, it was almost impossible to remove without the Ancient One’s permission, who had been gravely sick for nearly a year now.

Tonight, Tony was supposed to introduce the first functioning examples of the arc power and his plan for the company that focused on helping instead of destroying humanity. With that announcement had been one more…a public reveal of their relationship.

Stephen had been living inside a bubble, existing in a world where he and Tony could live happily ever after and the violence of both their pasts could be left behind. It was naïve and stupid and now; it would all go to dust.

There was a small part of Stephen that hoped he did die tonight, taking Mordo with him. He didn’t want to see the expression on Tony’s face when he learned his lover was an assassin and hoped, the order would see tonight’s announcement as evidence Tony had changed.

He feared his luck wasn’t that good.

“Stephen?”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad I have you here with me.”

Stephen smiled, staring into warm brown eyes that had made his heart beat again for the first time since he was a child, “me too. Everything is going to be fine.”


End file.
